"So you're inviting Hanako Arasaka to the Christmas party, huh?"
Oliver, driving the car, wasn't particularly surprised. He just turned to Jackie in the passenger seat and said, "Guess we'll need to set another place at the table. Not sure she's the type who's into street food though."
"I wouldn't worry about it," V chimed in from the backseat. "Mrs. Wells' cooking is the best I've ever had. As long as she's making the food, there won't be a problem. Didn't you guys tell me back when Karl first got to Night City, he couldn't stomach anything—except Mrs. Wells' fries?"
"Yeah," Jackie snorted. "Dude was practically hugging the fry bucket at home. I'm pretty sure he ate more fries in those weeks than I did in a year."
"What's the saying again?" Jackie grinned. "Starving ghost reborn?"
"Bullshit," Karl rolled his eyes. "They were just good fries. I wasn't shoveling them down like an animal."
Nobody in the crew seemed shocked about Hanako coming. There was no fuss, no fanfare. When Karl mentioned he'd invited her, everyone just gave a casual "oh" and started prepping an extra set of utensils.
A year ago? That would've been impossible. Back then, they were nobodies—street kids and Badlands drifters. They didn't know Hanako, and even if they did, they wouldn't have trusted anyone from Arasaka. But now?
Hell, even Saisen Arasaka had sat down and shared drinks and hotpot with them. No matter how high up Hanako was, she didn't outrank Saisen inside Arasaka. Besides, she was Karl's friend. That was all that mattered.
Then Jackie remembered something. "Wait—what about that bodyguard chick who's always glued to her? If she's coming too, that's one more seat."
"The bar's got enough spare plates," Oliver shrugged. "No shortage there." He paused. "Hey, what about Kenichiro? He coming?"
To the squad, Kenichiro was a pretty unique figure. Each of them had an Arasaka identity on paper tied to his name. Most of their Arasaka jobs came through him. He was the Arasaka rep they were closest to. If he was coming, yeah—they'd need to go all out.
"I didn't invite him," Karl said honestly. "He's been swamped. No need to bug him. But maybe we can check if Mr. Johnson and Andy are free this year. Last time, they couldn't take time off—too many arrests piling up during the holidays. This year's been a little quieter on the streets. They might have room to breathe."
"Mr. Johnson, huh…" Jackie's mind wandered. "Oh crap, almost forgot—Oliver, think your old man and your sister can make it? And what about Jade, that guy from the distribution center who keeps bringing us meat? We've gotten drunk with him like a dozen times. He in?"
"I'll check with them later," Oliver muttered. "But damn, that's already a lot of people. Think El Coyote Cojo can fit us all?"
"If not," V offered, "we host it at our place. It's big enough. We can ask Mrs. Wells and Misty to come early and decorate the way they like. Oh, and I haven't told Vik yet—gotta hit him up."
"Hosting it at home sounds good," Jackie nodded. "I'll let Mom know. Oh, and we should check in with Brown and Maine's crew too. Don't know if they've got the time, but it's worth asking."
"Brown's probably still guarding Kerry," Jackie added. "No idea if he can sneak away."
"Then bring Kerry along too," V said casually. "He's chill. Back when he was in Night City, we used to hang out, drink, talk about music."
V had bonded with Kerry after hearing him perform live back in Dogtown. He'd even visited him a few times after that. To him, Kerry was a choomba. And choombas? Always welcome.
"Damn," Oliver laughed. "We're talking rockstar Kerry, my old man, Johnson… This party's sounding flashier than anything over in Corpo Plaza."
He started doing a mental headcount. "We're gonna need a bigger cake."
"No need to order one," Karl said, shaking his head. "I'll bake it. Kenichiro sent me some premium flour not long ago. Might as well put it to use."
"So… he sent ingredients, and we're not inviting him?" V raised an eyebrow. "Kinda messed up. Maybe just ask?"
Karl hesitated… then gave in and sent a message.
Kenichiro: "Busy. Can't make it. Don't try the guilt card."
Karl: "?"
He stared at the blunt response. "He turned me down."
"Cool, no reason to feel bad then," Oliver shrugged. "Oh, by the way—should we invite Blanca? She's been one of our longest-running clients. Sure, she mostly deals with you, Karl, but we're inviting a lot of folks who only know one of us anyway. So…?"
"Then I gotta invite someone else too," Karl replied, thinking of Maki. He hadn't even messaged her yet when—
Maki: "Do you like cake? Christmas is coming. I'm baking a big one. Let's go eat it at Hanako's place."
Still sharp as ever. She always beat him to the punch.
Karl: "Come to my place instead. Hanako too."
He sent her the message, then Blanca's reply finally came in.
Blanca: "Where?"
Karl: "My place."
There was a long pause. Karl figured she was busy with work again, maybe stuck in overtime.
Then finally—
Blanca: "好."
Just one simple character. "Okay."
-
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